Cedric Ogbuehi still expected to open 2015 NFL season on PUP

The moment the Bengals spent a first-round pick on Cedric Ogbuehi, the belief was 2015 would, more or less, be a redshirt year for the talented offensive tackle.

Ogbuehi originally was expected to be a high first-round pick who may have not been on the board at pick No. 21 had he not suffered an injury right as his senior season ended. Unfortunately, he experienced an ACL injury during the Liberty Bowl last December.

There were some who had Ogbuehi ranked as a top-10 talent and one of the top offensive tackles in the NFL. That's why Cincinnati drafted him, even though it looks like he'll miss part of his rookie season while rehabbing. Geoff Hobson reports that Ogbuehi will likely open the season on PUP. That means he won't practice in training camp during the preseason, and will miss the first six games of the regular season.

That’s the plan. Bring him along slowly. You won’t see him in pads until most likely the seventh week of the regular season. But it seems that they think he’s rehabbed well enough that he should be able to contribute in a limited role after that point.

Ogbuehi started six games as a redshirt freshman in 2011 on the interior of the offensive line. He moved out to right tackle in 2013 as Jake Matthews, also an Aggie, moved to left tackle. He followed in Matthews' footsteps and decided to stay on for his senior year, during which he moved to the left tackle spot.

It's likely Ogbuehi plays right tackle as a rookie, but could also play some guard if Cincinnati thinks they need more depth there. After all, second-round pick Jake fisher can play both tackle spots, but there's no proven backup guard behind Clint Boling and Kevin Zeitler.